Expectations
by Garrett K. (Grade 7)

Where does it start? Where does it end?
The shackles of expectations, forcing you to bend.

Over your arms, binding your legs, causing a break.
meanwhile they pressure you: "Make no mistakes."

Long, long ago, this didn't exist.
No grades, no due dates, no big, long lists.

No hurdles, no gates, no fences of the sort.
No ropes, no chains, no restraints to report.

All this freedom must've been great.
Free to write, free to speak, even free to be unique.

Now today, the color fades. Works of art turn uniform.
One set of rules: a preset mold is the norm.

Summer comes, breathing life into creation.
No restrictions, just pure imagination.